1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to pet and animal furniture and more particularly to a functional article that forms a means for small pets to move from one elevation to another with ease.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Owners of small pets, particularly of the indoor variety, spend a disproportionate amount of time lifting their animal from one level to another. For example on to a bed or favorite chair which may be higher than the animal is able to leap. It is not uncommon for small pets to sleep on the same bed as their owners and jump down to the floor at any strange noise in the house, unable to climb back on to the bed without assistance. There currently exists no means that is designed particularly for pets that addresses this problem.
Examples of U.S. Patents that show the estate of the prior art but fail to anticipate the invention disclosed and claimed herein include, U.S. Pat. No. D383,261 issued Sep. 2, 1997 to Karsten et al., who shows an ornamental design for a step device for pets. U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,766 issued Nov. 24, 1981 to Piccone who discloses a furniture device for cats that consists of a plurality of interconnecting blocks. The U.S. Patent to Phillips et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,253 issued Jan. 27, 1998 discloses a small animal connectable play cube system. A U.S. Patent was issued Nov. 3, 1998 to Ionilla et al for a door-mounted, scratch, exercise and perch structure for cats, and U.S. Patent to Mogck U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,440 issued Jun. 3, 1997 for a convertible step and ramp combination.